Site fillip for Konar project

Hazaribagh, Aug. 4: Around eight lakh citizens of Hazaribagh town can expect to heave a sigh of relief sometime in the future with the drinking water and sanitation department (DWSD) reviving an ambitious project to quench the city’s thirst with supply from Konar dam.

Today, chairperson of Hazaribagh Municipal Board Anjali Kumari visited Rola village in Sadar block to finalise a plot for setting up a water treatment plant as a part of the long-pending project under which the town’s supply network will be connected with an existing reservoir in Vishnugarh block, some 70km from the district headquarters. The board’s special officer Ajay Sao and BJP leader Anupam Sinha accompanied her.

Once functional, the project would solve Hazaribagh’s water problem and reduce its over-dependence on the fast-shrinking Charwa dam, situated 6km from the district headquarters. A private firm — SIC Engineers and Constructors — is preparing the detailed project report (DPR).

“We have requested urban development department officials in Ranchi to allot the land at Rola, which is located around 3km from Hazaribagh town, for building the water treatment plant under the Konar project. As SIC Engineers and Constructors has already started preparing the DPR, we need a plot near the town for the treatment plant. The Rola site is ideal for the purpose,” Anjali said.

Executive engineer of DWSD Anirudh Prasad confirmed that work would start once the DPR was ready.

“The company will get Rs 39 37 lakh to prepare the DPR. It has been given four months to submit the project report. After the DPR is ready, the department will begin laying pipelines between Konar in Vishnugarh block and Hazaribagh,” he added.

According to sources, a Calcutta company was hired for Rs 35 lakh three years ago to work out a DPR for the project. However, due to lack of coordination and monitoring, the firm prepared a faulty report, which was eventually rejected by the department.